2002 Chevy Avalanche 161,000 5.3 liter
I began losing coolant as presented to me by the Low coolant notification in the message center. I can smell coolant around the radiator area but see no leaks or any ground spots of coolant .. The amount is random. I lost 1/2 a gallon in 100 miles one day and then maybe 1/2 gallon in 500 miles another time . I see bubbles in the recovery tank at cold start up so I know i got air in the system and at this time I havent checked for hydrocarbon gas in the tank. No oil milkshakes, poor idle, tranny contamination, no coolant mixing with anything else, and no sweet smell out the tail pipe . The truck sat for along time before i bought it and i have owned it for about 3500 miles so far . So the question for the experts here is is there any other way to get air into the recovery tank and lose coolant without it being a head gasket issue ?? Or should i start saving my 1,000 dollars to get it fixed ? One additional note i can drive at 70 MPH all day without issue but when i idle in traffic for 2 minutes it will set the low coolant light off and then when i shut the key off and come back out the light is off and the coolant level is fine . No overheating or movement of the temp gauge has been noticed. Runs steady at about 200 degrees and idles fine , power is great .
I began losing coolant as presented to me by the Low coolant notification in the message center. I can smell coolant around the radiator area but see no leaks or any ground spots of coolant .. The amount is random. I lost 1/2 a gallon in 100 miles one day and then maybe 1/2 gallon in 500 miles another time . I see bubbles in the recovery tank at cold start up so I know i got air in the system and at this time I havent checked for hydrocarbon gas in the tank. No oil milkshakes, poor idle, tranny contamination, no coolant mixing with anything else, and no sweet smell out the tail pipe . The truck sat for along time before i bought it and i have owned it for about 3500 miles so far . So the question for the experts here is is there any other way to get air into the recovery tank and lose coolant without it being a head gasket issue ?? Or should i start saving my 1,000 dollars to get it fixed ? One additional note i can drive at 70 MPH all day without issue but when i idle in traffic for 2 minutes it will set the low coolant light off and then when i shut the key off and come back out the light is off and the coolant level is fine . No overheating or movement of the temp gauge has been noticed. Runs steady at about 200 degrees and idles fine , power is great .
